This 30-cm Worldview-3 image showcase the remarkable Tangalooma shipwrecks off the coast of Morten Island, Australia. As visible in the image, multiple ships found a watery resting place off the coast of the island. But how did they get there? World War II ruins? Pirate ships? Wrecks on coral reefs? Actually, the ships that make up the Tangalooma wrecks were put there on purpose, in order to create a safe harbor to allow small boats to dock on the island. Altogether, 15 vessels were sunk to create this human-made sandbank – the first five in 1963; five more in the 1970’s; and the last set of five in the 1980’s. The ships have also formed a habitat for a multitude of sea creatures. Coral has begun to take root on the ship skeletons, attracting an enormous amount of marine life, including trevally, yellowtail, turtles, and even the occasional dolphin! The location has become a popular attraction for scuba divers and snorkelers, as one can dive among the wreckage. Since the ships are nestled so close to the shoreline, the location is easily accessible, and the sapphire waters offer amazingly clear views of the wildlife. This is appropriate, given that the word “Tangalooma”, which originates from the Quandamooka language, means ‘where fish gather”. This WorldView-3 image of the Tangalooma wreck site was captured on October 15, 2015. The image gives a stunning satellite view of the ships that form this human-made harbor. This 30-cm WorldView-3 imagery has been processed by Apollo Mapping for improved perspective, clarity and colors. (Satellite Imagery © 2023 Maxar Technologies)Every time we look at WorldView-3 and WorldView-4 (WV3/4) imagery, we are blown away. And we hope you are equally impressed with the data! In April, we looked at Brazil’s beautiful Lencois Maranhenses National Park. For this edition of the 30-cm Color WorldView-3/4 Image of the Month we’re headed to Morten Islands off the coast of Australia to check out the Tangalooma shipwrecks.
WorldView-3 launched in late 2014 and WorldView-4 launched in late 2016; taken together they are the most advanced satellite constellation the commercial marketplace has ever had access to. Here are a few of the features that really set these satellites apart from the competition:
- Improved Resolution
- Higher resolution means you can see more detail in WV3/4 imagery.
- Data collected at nadir will have 31-centimeter (cm) panchromatic, 1.24-meter (m) visible and near infrared, 3.7-m SWIR (WV3 only) and 30-m CAVIS (WV3 only) bands.
- At 20 degrees off-nadir, the resolution is 34-cm panchromatic, 1.38-m visible and near infrared and 4.1-m shortwave infrared.
- Additional Spectral Bands
- If spectral analysis is part of your project, then no other satellite can match WV3 with its: 8 bands of visible and near-infrared data; and 8 shortwave infrared bands which are crucial for geological studies.
- Better Positional Accuracy
- With accuracies of 3.5-m CE90% or better (without ground control even!), WV3/4 has no rivals for its enhanced positional accuracy.
- Daily Revisits
- At 40 degrees latitude, WV3 is able to image every location daily with 1-meter or better resolution and then every 4.5 days at 34-cm resolution or better.
- WV4 is no longer collecting new imagery.
- Increased Collection Capacity
- WV3/4 feature 13.1-km swath widths (at nadir) with the ability to collect up to 680,000 square kilometer (sq km) of high-resolution data per day per satellite (though WV4 is dead now).
- Improved control movement gyros translate into larger maximum contiguous collection areas per pass, with up to ~7,500 sq km of mono imagery and ~3,000 sq km of stereo possible.
If you are interested in WorldView-3 and/or WorldView-4 imagery for your next project, please let us know by phone, 303-993-3863, or by email, sales@apollomapping.com.
You can also find more WV3 samples and technical information on our website here and then WV4 samples and information can be found here.
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